


Outstretched Hands

by SaekoCrolla (Crollalanza)



Series: Sports Fest 2018 Haikyuu!! [21]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Childhood Friends, M/M, Post-Karasuno Match
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-01
Updated: 2018-08-01
Packaged: 2019-06-20 00:42:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15522300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crollalanza/pseuds/SaekoCrolla
Summary: On the best days and the worst days, it's good to have a hand to hold.





	Outstretched Hands

**Author's Note:**

> Written for SportsFest2018  
> Prompt: 
> 
> “Hold my hand in yours, and we will not fear what hands like ours can do.”
> 
> ― Anonymous, The Epic of Gilgamesh

He’d fallen in the stream because he’d overbalanced trying to see what was in Iwa-chan’s net (a stickleback as it turned out, which Iwa-chan had tipped into a bucket to examine later) and sat there for a second or so until Iwa-chan stretched out his hand.

“Did you hurt yourself?” he asked, hauling him to the bank.

“No. It’s cold though, and I’m wet.”

“Got spares in my bag,” Iwa-chan said, throwing it to him. “My mum makes me bring stuff… just in case.”

“Doesn’t she get cross?” Tooru asked because he felt sure he’d be scolded if he returned wet and muddy.

“Um, not really.” He went back to his bucket, swishing the water with his fingers. “You c’n dry off in the sun.”

In Iwa-chan’s spare clothes, Tooru felt as if he were playing dress-up. They smelt different from his own, a little scratchier against his skin and not the same.

“Hey, I’m another Iwa-chan,” he said pulling on the shirt. “I’ve got a Godzilla shirt too!”

“That,” Iwa-chan replied witheringly, “is a dinosaur. A Tyranosaurus Rex.”

“I knew that,” Tooru lied, then grabbed his own bag. “Let’s have our picnic.”

Later, when Tooru’s clothes had dried and Iwa-chan had returned the stickleback and two water snails to the stream, they wandered back through a field knee deep in grass and buttercups. They danced under Tooru’s eyes, so full of sunshine, and he clasped Iwa-chan’s hand because this was the best of days!

 

The clouds are the sort of grey that threaten rain but can never quite carry it through. Sludge scudding across the sky, brooding but not ominous. Tooru, though, peeks up at them from time to time, wondering if he should have worn a jacket with a hood.

But then, what does it matter if he gets wet? The thought collides with a memory and despite his weariness, he smiles.

Through the clump of trees, he sees a figure crouching on the grass, his hand dabbling in a stream … their stream.

“Hey, Iwa-chan.”

“Hey.”  He doesn’t turn around, but remains hunched.

“I thought I’d find you here.”

“Really?” His tone was sceptical.

“Well, after I tried your home, and school and the park. Oh, and I dropped in to Little Tykes too.”

“Sorry to put you to so much trouble.”

“It’s no trouble.” _It’s never been any trouble._ “Do you mind if I join you?”

“Go ahead.”

He sits, a little gingerly because the grass is damp, and watches the stream bubble and flow. It’s smaller than he remembers, and he can’t quite believe it’s the same one he fell in all those years ago, but then he’s bigger. They both are.

“Iwa-chan…”

“Don’t say it.”

“You don’t know what I’m about to say?”

“’It’s not your fault, Iwa-chan.’,” he says, his voice an exaggerated mimicry of Tooru’s.

“Well, it’s not,” Tooru replies. “But that’s not what I was going to say.”

“Liar.”

“Not at all.” He grasps for something to say. “I was going to ask about that Maths homework. When is it due again?”

He hears a snort, then a sigh and he slumps to the side, resting his head on Tooru’s shoulder.  “You were always a shit liar, Oikawa.”

Tooru says nothing but reaches for Iwa-chan’s hand, clasping it tight because this is the worst of days.


End file.
